By Chuks Okoh
The runway of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja which was closed for 30 hours for rehabilitation on July 5, 2014 has been re-opened for flight operations.
Reports from pilots who have used the runway so far indicate that the rehabilitation of a section of the runway was professionally executed and would enhance safety of flight operations on the runway .
But it appears this reopening is temporary.According to the general manager corporate communications,FAAN, Mr Yakubu Dati, the second phase of the rehabilitation of the remaining section of the runway will take place for another 30 hours next weekend between Saturday 12, (2300 UTC) and Monday 14 (0500 UTC), 2014.
Dati said NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) to this effect has already been sent to all aircraft pilots and other relevant stakeholders, informing them of the impending closure.
He said the runway rehabilitation was being done in two phases to minimize the inconvenience the runway closure would have on air passengers and aircraft operators if it was carried out at once.
MMA2 Facilities’ Upgrade To be Completed 2016
Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited, BASL, has said that facility upgrades at its terminal, Murtala Mohammed Airport Two, MMA2 Lagos will be completed by 2016.
This is just as the terminal operator Tuesday at MMA2 commissioned the escalator, which was recently installed by its management. The escalator project the management said was the fourth phase of its facility upgrades, which is put at N500m.
Speaking at the event, the Chief Executive Officer, CEO, BASL, Mr. Christophe Pennick said that there are 11 phases included in the facilities’ upgrade by the company, adding that seven more phases would still be carried out by the management.
Pennick apologised to the passengers, terminal users, airline operators and even the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, for the inconveniences caused them since the management commenced the facility upgrade.
Other phases commissioned earlier by BASL according to Pennick were the automation of the car park, installing of new dual billing system at the cargo section and the expansion of the checked-in counters from 33 to 45 counters.
However, our correspondent gathered that BASL expended at least N100m on the reinstallation of the escalator upgrade while the equipment were imported from Japan.
He said that with the upgrade of the facilities, all its operations would be International Air Transport Association, IATA complaint, adding that this would make it the first terminal in the sub-Saharan African countries to be so compliant.
He said, “With this, we have done a major technical surgery to come out with this change. No pain, no gain. The escalators weigh more than 40 tonnes and to be able to do this, it was not easy.
Also commenting, the Chief Operating Officer, COO, BASL, Miss Adebisi Awoniyi said that the management decided to change the escalator in order to boost the maintenance culture of its facilities, which she noted had been lacking in the country.
She insisted that the company would not toil with the maintenance of its facilities despite the myriad of challenges in the industry in particular and the country at large.
Awoniyi explained that the management went some extra miles to engage more people to assist passengers especially the physically challenged people during the reinstallation of the facility and commended the staff for their dedication.
She said, “We cannot afford to mess around with maintenance of our facilities wherever they are. Because of the patriotic culture in us, we have lots of facilities and equipment that were installed by Nigerians, but they come with their own challenges as their maintenances are not the way they should be.”
Also, the Director, Consumer Protection, NCAA, Alhaji Adamu Abdullahi said that the agency would continue to keep all the terminal operators in the country including the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, on their toes to improve passengers experiences within the airport environments.
Adamu said, “It is good they are doing this and they will be able to put FAAN on its toes. FAAN with this now has no choice than to improve on its facilities and give world class operations in its terminals.”
